NN Rewards Points

Kava Kava is now available in Canada! Supplement with Kava Kava for its calming and restorative properties. Medically Kava Kava is proven to be a natural stress-relieving root and has been used for over 3000 years in the South Pacific for its stress busting benefits. Life Choice Kava Kava is formulated with 400mg of Kava (Piper methysticum root 30% kavalactones). [VCAPS]

Related Videos

Related Articles

Life Choice is pioneering the legal reintroduction of Kava Kava supplements into the North American market. After ten years out of the Canadian market, this product's return is highly-anticipated by the natural health community.

Kava Kava is best-known as a ceremonial South Pacific beverage. The earliest European knowledge of Kava Kava dates back to the late 1700s, with the journeys of Captain Cook.

Today, usage of Kava Kava beverages in tropical climates is similar to the use of alcoholic beverages in the West. However, the plant from which the beverage is made was found to have useful properties to aid anxiety, hyperactivity, stress, and restlessness.

For the last two years, Life Choice has attempted to legally bring their Kava Kava back onto the market. In March, Life Choice became the first Kava Kava product to receive a Natural Product Numberand therefore, a green lightfrom Health Canada.

With our brand of Kava Kava, Canadians can once again enjoy the relaxing benefits of Kava Kava supplementation, with no worries over legality or safety.

Claims:Used in Herbal Medicine as a calmative and/or sleep aid.

Caution/Risk Information:Consult a health care practitioner if symptoms persist or worsen. Consult a health care practitioner before use if you are using conventional sedative-hypnotics (or natural health products with similar effects) anxiolytics, MAO inhibitors, and other psychopharmacologic agents, levodopa (or other drugs for Parkinson's disease), or anti-platelet agents. Consumption with alcohol or anti-convulsants is not recommended. Excessive use, or use with products that cause drowsiness, may impair your ability to operate a vehicle or use heavy machinery. Do not use if you are allergic to plants of the Asteraceae/Compositae/Daisy family.

Discontinue use and consult a health care practitioner if you develop symptoms that may signal liver problems (e.g. unexplained fatigue, abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, dark urine, yellow eyes or skin). Gastrointestinal discomfort may occur, in which case discontinue use. Hypersensitivity (e.g. allergy)has been known to occur, in which case, discontinue use.

Kava

Kava, otherwise known as piper methysticum, is a member of the pepper family and is native to Polynesia, from which it spread to many western Pacific islands. Traditionally the rhizomes were chewed or ground into a pulp and mixed with water/liquid to create a thick mash that slightly numbed the mouth and induced feelings of well-being, calm and contentment.

'Kava ceremonies' were even held for visiting royalty or special guests. It was James Cook who first introduced the herb to Europe. A little over 20 years ago, Kava became very popular in the West and became a go-to herb for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. Still today, it is considered an extremely effective alternative to anti-depressants and sleep aids, often associated with undesirable side effects. Kava's active compounds are known collectively as kavalactones. Research has demonstrated the ability of kavalactones to bind to a number of receptors in the brain, including dopamine receptors. This explains the herb's calming, muscle relaxing and mild analgesic-like effects.

Safety IssuesUnfortunately, there has been much debate about the SAFETY issues surrounding Kava, so much so that it is no longer available in Canada and many European countries and warnings have been issued to consumers and physicians by regulatory bodies like the United States Food and Drug Administration. There are some reports suggesting that the use of Kava is associated with with liver damage, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver failure. These reports, primarily out of Europe are of varying quality and the are typically associated with a higher than recommended dosage of the herb. However, they have been enough to get the attention of masses and the popularity of Kava has, over the last 20 years, really diminished.

Can I still use it?Kava is still available in the States. Sadly, there is very little information in terms of efficacious and safe dosage. It is not recommended that you use Kava while taking other medications and is best to consult a healthcare practitioner before use. They can recommend the right dosage for you, as well, some healthcare practitioners may implement a cycling program in which kava is taken 10-12 days per month, as opposed to everyday, thereby minimizing potential liver toxicity effects.

Stress

Stress is usually thought of as a negative factor in our daily lives but it is necessary part of life. Without stress life becomes boring. The key to stress, as with everything else in life, is balance. Enough to keep you interested but not enough to become overwhelmed. Individuals have different thresholds for stress. What is seen as stressful to one person may not be stressful to another.

The stress response is the body's way of preparing for action. As our species evolved it kept us safe, allowing us to fight for survival, or to flee from dangerous situations. The sympathetic nervous system response involves increased heart rate, blood pressure and adrenal output, as well as increased blood flow to the brain, muscles, lungs and heart. Those organs that are not needed to fight or flee receive less blood flow, for example, the digestive organs. This response is very efficient for a short period of time but it is meant to be used sparingly.

Anxiety

Who hasn't had anxious moments in their life? Stressful situations are part of our daily existence. Anxiety evolved as a coping mechanism to alert us to danger and allow us to act quickly and efficiently. It becomes maladaptive when it restricts our activities or causes our body to be in a constant state of fear.In most cases, anxiety is due to thoughts or emotions. The situation that brings on anxiety is individual but our body reacts to the perceived threat the same way it would if there was an actual threat. In other cases, substances like caffeine, nicotine, toxins or lack of sleep can contribute to anxiety. Medical conditions such as hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, strokes, mitral valve prolapse, iron deficiency anemia or adrenal tumours cause the nervous system to respond with anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety causes physical stress on the body. The autonomic nervous system is activated resulting in a sense of uneasiness, sweating and trembling or outright anxiety attacks. Attacks can include diarrhea, heart palpitations, memory blocks and inappropriate behaviour.

I really like this Kava Kava supplement. It is strong with 400mg and is also a standardized extract form with 30% kavalactones in it. That is the Kava Kava concentration that has been proven to be effective in studies. Usually 1 or 2 caps is enough to take the edge of stress off. Sometimes I will take Life Choice Kava Kava with Vitamin B-12 from Natural Factors or GABA from Now Foods when Im extra stressed but it is still good on its own. Thanks to Life Choice for bringing this kava root supplement back to Canada and getting the NPN from Health Canada. Good Price at National Nutrition also.

By
Dieter from
Ottawa on227/08/2014

Was this review Helpfull?

(0)

(0)

Recommend:

yes

Kava kava is back!

After years kava kava is back on the shelves! See Health Canada NPN 80029817.

This product didnt do as good for me as other Life-Choice kava from the USA;

First it has a lot of Kava (400mg) when 1 or 2 (150mg) caps did fine to calm me down help with sleep too.

Second its not 100% kava kava - they added chamomile or something which gives me nightmares.

If I take only kava I sleep great and daytime anxiety is much less without feeling groggy.

Copyright 2001-2018 National Nutrition Ltd. Please note that while National Nutrition supports your right to use nutritional supplements for any therapeutic purpose you or your practitioner see fit, that the information on this website should not be considered as a claim, or a substitute for the advice of your health care practitioner. All text and images are intended for informational purposes only. Any order confirmation (electronic or paper receipt) given to you through Nationalnutrition.ca does not signify our acceptance of your order, nor does it constitute confirmation of an offer to sell. Note that National Nutrition reserves the right to refuse the processing or shipment of an order for any reason. For full legal and privacy disclosure click here.